


Of Stories and Soulmates

by NotGuyFieri



Series: [Romantic/Bittersweet] Young Justice One-Shots [5]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7062220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotGuyFieri/pseuds/NotGuyFieri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of soulmate AU prompts (mostly) taken from Tumblr, involving different Young Justice pairings. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Youthful Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've been kinda crazy over soulmate AUs for the past few months. I decided I'd write things I haven't seen written down before, so there won't be anything like 'Person 1 has person 2's name written on their wrist, and person 2 has person 1's name written on their wrist'. Each story will vary in length. Some are short, some may be long. It really just depends on the AU.
> 
> Youthful Hearts was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**YOUTHFUL HEARTS**

**(Dick Grayson x Wally West)**

To make things simple, Wally West never looked forward to growing up. In fact, he was perfectly content with being a kid. He never took an interest in romance, yet he was destined for it anyways. Which really annoyed him. What was so special about it?

The reason as to why Wally West didn't look forward to growing up was because if he found his soulmate, he'd start aging. Soulmates aged together, at the same pace. Most people accepted this, and some even embraced it. However, there were plenty of stories of people killing their soulmate so they could be immortal, or people who didn't find their soulmate until they were a hundred years old. Wally didn't want either of those. He didn't want to have to kill his soulmate to remain young forever, and he didn't want to meet them when he was 128 years old. No, he never wanted to meet them at all. He was perfectly content going through life without an amorous trail behind him.

He liked having his friends with him instead. They lived by a strict _bros before hoes_ policy, spending their nights as teenagers playing video games and drinking soda. His bros were Roy, Wally, and occasionally Kaldur, though he was usually too busy doing responsible stuff to join in on the fun. So he was more like a half-bro.

So, on that dreaded eighteenth birthday, the thing Wally wished for when blowing out his candles was to never meet his soulmate.

About two years passed, and Wally figured he was doing a pretty good job of avoiding his soulmate. His looks hadn't changed at all since he was eighteen. However, by this point, Dick's eighteenth birthday was going to be coming up within a few days. And, like Wally, he totally dreaded it. Wally had to give him a pep talk, to remind him it'd be okay. Dick didn't want to grow old either, but not for the same reasons as Wally. Wally didn't want to grow old because, y'know, who wants to be old? Being young was awesome! When you're old, you're slower, weaker, usually fatter, and you got all wrinkly and ugly! Being young was the opposite of that.

Dick didn't want to be old, because he was pretty much in his prime right now as a hero. He was fit, all muscle, his vision and hearing were pristine, and basically everything worked perfectly. He could defend Gotham better if he was young. He didn't care about looks or wrinkles, unlike Wally. Wally always admired his friend for having better morals than him, but that still didn't stop him from not wanting to be old because he was scared he'd be ugly. Who wasn't?

When Dick's birthday came and passed, he decided with Roy and Wally to move into an apartment together. They were all adults now, and could show their mentors they could be independent. On their move-in date, they took a picture of themselves inside the empty space, goofy expressions on their faces. It was the first picture they mounted on the wall when they finally got to putting things up.

Roy had already met his soulmate; he was eighteen when he met her. She was Artemis's sister, Jade, and now she was pregnant. You'd think that Roy would want to live with her, but Jade was everywhere at once and never lived in one place for more than a year, and Roy didn't want to break the _bros before hoes_ policy. Roy and Jade always had this odd love-hate relationship that Dick and Wally would constantly tease him about (as well as tease him about growing old with Jade), but Roy didn't really mind.

It wasn't until his daughter was born did he decide to move out and break the policy. Yeah, _bros before hoes_ , but not _bros before babies._ Him leaving was disappointing to the other two, since he'd been living in the apartment for less than a year. It'd been a fun less-than-a-year however, with plenty of memories behind it. Hell, Bruce even accused Dick of slacking from being Nightwing because of living with Wally and Roy, but he reassured Bruce that as long as he never met his soulmate and stayed eternally young, Gotham would be fine.

Dick and Wally liked this never-meet-soulmate lifestyle. Just two bros, bro-ing out, living together and being young forever. They both attended college, so sometimes life got busy. Usually, one would come home to the other passed out on the couch, or even asleep at the computer desk they both used. It wasn't unusual for them to not even talk for an entire day, trying to cram in their studies or typing an essay. They could sit next to each other on the couch with their laptops typing away for hours, yet not saying a word, except the occasional "How's your essay going?" with the response of "Good." or "I hate my life."

Often, they patrolled the city together, even though Bruce didn't approve of meta-humans doing hero-work in Gotham. Them working together definitely got some media attention, despite them trying to their best to blend in with the night and not make a scene. They were known simply as the "Super Friends". Wally always thought the name was tacky, but he never really cared too much about it.

A few more years passed. They'd experience college life together and do super hero work together, just like two friends would. Right?

Well, yeah. Wally woke up one morning, and was about to get ready for work, when he noticed something odd when he was washing his face.

Huh.

He got closer to the mirror, squinting his eyes. There was something on his chin, it almost looked like… Dorito dust. He washed his chin again, but it remained.

He realized with horror that he had stubble.

And that meant-

That meant he was _aging!_

He had to hold back the scream that formed and made its way up his throat. _When the hell did he meet his soulmate?_ Did he just look at them randomly on the streets one day and suddenly start aging? He had to calm down. He had to clear his mind somehow. Quickly pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called his dad.

"Dad?" he asked.

 _"Hello, Wally."_ his father greeted.

"Yeah, uh, I need to ask you a question." Wally informed.

_"What's up?"_

"When- yeah, uh, when do the men in our family start getting noticeable changes- like changes from aging- after they meet their soulmate?" Wally asked.

 _"Hmm,"_ his father thought about it, _"I'd say around four years you'd start noticing a difference. Why?"_

"I woke up this morning with stubble." Wally explained, "And I'm kind of freaking out."

His father laughed, _"You act as if meeting your soulmate is a bad thing."_

"And I met them four years ago and I don't know who they are!" Wally panicked, "What if I just like, saw them on street or in a store and started aging? Besides, four years ago, I was twenty, not eighteen."

 _"So you didn't see them when you were eighteen. Either that, or your soulmate wasn't eighteen yet when you were eighteen. Or, it could be possible you did just spot a glance at them and started aging."_ his dad responded.

Wally let out a groan of frustration.

_"I wouldn't worry about it, Wally. I'm sure you'll figure out who it is."_

Wally sighed, "Okay."

_"Bye, son. Best of luck to you."_

"Bye."

The call dropped.

Wally sighed, and quickly finished getting ready for work.

When he returned home, still in a bad mood, Dick noticed.

"What's up?" he asked, looking up from his laptop.

"I found my soulmate." Wally groaned.

"Oh." Dick said simply, "That sucks."

"You don't seem very sympathetic." Wally accused. Dick shrugged, continuing to work. Wally narrowed his eyes. "You don't feel bad because you don't understand what it's like. I have stubble now, Dick. Stubble that looks like _Dorito dust!"_ he began to walk towards the kitchen.

"Wait, really?" Dick called out.

 _"Yes."_ Wally responded, obviously annoyed. He grabbed a coke out of the fridge and sat back down on a chair.

"So, do you know who it is?" Dick asked.

"No, but I met them _four years ago,_ because stubble doesn't start appearing until four years after you meet your soulmate in my family." Wally responded.

"Oh, interesting." Dick replied, partly preoccupied with his schoolwork.

"You should feel lucky you're gonna stay young longer than I will." Wally told him. Dick bit his lip in response. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Yes, obviously something is up, I know that lip bite when I see it."

Dick sighed, "I'm aging, too, Wally."

Wally looked at him with wide eyes for a few moments. "What?" he asked.

"I'm slowly- _but surely-_ starting to bald. And my chest is hairier than it used to be when I was eighteen."

"Dick, I- why haven't you ever told me?" Wally sounded betrayed. They told each other everything.

"I wanted to keep you feeling traught. Like we'd be young forever." Dick explained, "I didn't want to, y'know, kill the vibe, or whatever."

"Oh…" Wally was silent again for a few more moments, "Well, do you know who your soulmate is?"

"No." Dick shook his head, "I think it might be Barbara, but I'm not sure."

"Let's look at her Facebook photos." Wally suggested, "Compare the one's from when she was eighteen to the one's from these days."

"Okay," Dick agreed, typing in some stuff before pulling up a few photos, "This is what she looked like when she was eighteen." Wally got up from his chair to look over Dick's shoulder. "This is what she looks like now." he pulled up a photo from a few weeks ago.

"Wow! She looks… exactly the same." Wally commented. Dick sighed.

"Ha, wouldn't it be funny if like, we were soulmates?" Wally amused the thought.

Dick laughed along, then he frowned. Wally shot him a perplexed look. Dick placed his laptop to the side and went to the wall where their first photo in the apartment was taken. He grabbed the frame.

"Dick, I was just joking." Wally said quickly.

"Wally… I think you may just be right." Dick looked up at him.

"What? No way, dude, we can't be-" Dick handed him the frame, and Wally looked at it. "Yeah… we're soulmates, aren't we?"

"I think so." Dick replied. "I mean, it makes sense. You're twenty four, and you said your family doesn't get noticeable aging changes until four years after meeting your soulmate, right? Four years ago you were twenty, which means I was eighteen. So, that means we've been official soulmates for four years, and we didn't even know."

"Huh." Wally said, "Well, uh, I honestly don't know how to react to this."

"Me neither." Dick agreed, and went back to sitting on the couch, and continued to type his essay.

"Seriously, Dick? We just found out we're soulmates and you're focusing on school?" Wally teased.

"It's important!" Dick insisted, and a grin made its way across his face.

"Well, now that we're soulmates, what are we gonna do? What's a soulmate-thing to do?" Wally asked.

"You can kiss me goodnight." Dick suggested and laughed. Wally laughed as well.

"Alright, my sweet prince."

Dick laughed again.

Wally smiled. He felt a sense of peace within him, knowing that he found his soulmate. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to become an elder. He was having this journey with Dick, after all.

That night before bed, Wally took his new-found love's hand, and whispered, "I can't wait to grow old with you." Dick smiled, pulling Wally into a simple kiss before separating, a smirk on his face.

Walking off into his bedroom, Dick waved him goodnight. Despite officially growing old, Wally felt so young and free.

And suddenly, he loved romance.

_Fin._

Nah, I'm lying. Of course it didn't end like that. They actually had mind-blowing sex on Dick's bed that night.

_Fin #2._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to send me a prompt, privately message me and I'll provide you my email so you can send it. I will accept original ideas only.


	2. Spectrum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spectrum was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**SPECTRUM**

**(Bart Allen x Jaime Reyes)**

Jaime Reyes, like the rest of the youth, was told that colors were the most beautiful thing in the world. The people who saw them told him they came in different arrays, spectrums, and were more diverse than anything anyone could ever imagine. He was told it was nothing you would ever understand until you saw them for yourself.

Like him, most people his age saw things in black and white. They expressed their obvious distaste for it, actively looking at nearly everybody in hopes that they were their soulmate. Because, for some reason on this Earth, you couldn't see a single color until you locked eyes with your true love for the first time. Teenagers didn't care so much about the soulmate part, they just wanted to get some color in their life. It wasn't uncommon for them to attempt to make eye contact with everyone they came across, regardless of who they were. It was a societal norm to be intently stared at on the subway, or in the waiting room. How could it not be? The older generations, who already found their soulmates, made colors seem so amazing, so magical.

Despite this, Jaime never really cared about seeing colors. He figured he'd eventually see them one day, and he wasn't going to waste his time making people uncomfortable just because of a silly desire. The one thing that eventually bugged him, however, was being Blue Beetle, and not even knowing what the color blue looked like. Desperate to know, he then began to follow the trend most people his age did- intently stare at people.

Yes, he resorted to that, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't fair! After about six months since the scarab latched itself to his spine, he gave up, knowing it was a lost cause. He began to fantasize about his soulmate instead. He imagined her as being not too short but not too tall, around the same age as him, with long and flowing hair, muscular yet curvy, and when he saw her, she'd be full of colors. She'd be smart, beautiful, and just perfect.

So, you could definitely imagine Jaime's surprise on that morning in early March when Bart came into his life instead.

He was sitting at the counter in the cave's living room/kitchen, talking to Lagoon Boy and Wonder Girl about a mission they recently completed. In mid-conversation, he felt a sudden breeze push his hair back, and a teenage boy was standing on the other side of the table, too hyper for his own good.

"What's up guys? I'm your new teammate! My name's Impulse, by the way. But I already know your names. You're Lagoon Boy, you're Wonder Girl, and you're Blue-"

It took roughly a millisecond for color to swarm over Jaime's vision.

"B-Blue Beetle." Bart finished, looking at Jaime, and Jaime couldn't help but stare back.

Colors.

Jaime was _seeing colors!_

"Er, uh, just call me Jaime."

"Bart Allen."

"Right." Jaime acknowledged and nodded, still surprised. It took him a bit to comprehend that he just met his soulmate. He always had this image of a girl in his head, and his soulmate, he just discovered, was another guy. It's not like it upset him or anything, but most people had soulmates of the opposite gender, so he had expected a girl. No big deal.

Bart sped off, and Jaime wondered why back then. He came to realize about a month later that it was because he pretty much ruined the future for everybody and turned them into Reach slaves, but at the time, _of course_ he was clueless. And Bart, being from that future, was _terrified_ that he was soulmates with the guy who took over the Earth.

Jaime began to walk through life seeing everything color. It was kind of overwhelming at first, because there were so many of them. It took him about two weeks to get used to it, however, and he sure enjoyed learning about what each color was called. Blue was his favorite color. It looked good on him.

As the weeks passed, Bart began to warm up to him as well, and Jaime thought everything would be okay. He had to admit it, Bart looked very good in color.

They went out to the desert in El Paso, blowing up rocks and overall just hanging around. He looked Bart in the eyes for longer than usual on that night, and he wanted nothing more than to just kiss him. He knew Bart would be uncomfortable with that, so he didn't, but god, Bart was just so beautiful.

And on that same night, only a mere few hours before being kidnapped by the Light, Jaime realized that blue wasn't his favorite color. No, it was green- the color of Bart's eyes.

A few months passed, and the whole event with the Reach happened. To make a long story short, Wally was dead, the Reach were gone, and Bart had a new hero name along with a new uniform.

Yellow and red looked good on Bart. Hell, pretty much every color looked good on Bart. On July fourth, after knowing his soulmate for four months, he finally received his first kiss from him. It was unlike anything he ever experienced before, and damn, he just loved Bart.

As the years passed, Jaime learned something. The older generation didn't like colors because you could see the world in a whole new way. No, they liked colors because they could see their soulmate in the utmost detail, all of the tints, highlights, and shades that they gave off.

Jaime knew that as long was Bart with him, feeling the speedster's rapid heartbeat next to him as they slept, seeing his yellow and red streak as they worked together on missions, pointing out rainbows in the sky when they walked, that they'd be okay. That the world would continue to engulf them in its beautiful colors, and they'd continue to be madly in love.

It was a Thursday afternoon, Jaime and Bart were on a mission with the rest of the Justice League. They were taking out Bizarro, who currently was putting the world in a panic. The dude was super powerful, and wanted nothing more than to kill Superman and then destroy the Earth.

The entire League was attacking Bizarro, and Bart and Barry circling around him, to provide a distraction. Annoyed, Bizarro let out a breath of fire; enough fire to light up a whole city.

Jaime was hovering above ground, so he got a good view of what was going on. In a panic to save them, he dove down, knowing his armor would protect him from the flames, though his suit did get uncomfortably hot. Khaji Da assisted him in finding the two speedsters. Bart was on top of Barry, most likely from an attempt to shield him. And, compared to Barry's, Bart's burns were _bad._ The only thing that Jaime had time to observe was that his costume was seared off, and his skin was most likely seared off, too- his flesh was bright red, and his hair was gone. Quickly Jaime grabbed them, flying out of the fire, looking for the Bioship so they could receive medical attention.

He was getting close. The doors were about to open. They'd be okay.

Just then, right as he flew into the Bioship, the world went back to black and white.


	3. Bizarre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bizarre was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**BIZARRE**

**(Roy Harper x Jade Nguyen)**

Roy Harper looked bizarre.

It's what the people would always tell him. That he looked like Halloween lived in his hair, that he should just give up and dye his hair all black and go for the goth look, that it'd fit his broody personality.

But really, who could blame Roy Harper for being broody? Everyone made fun of him for his hair! They always said he looked weird- _bizarre._

Roy came to hate that word. _Bizarre._ The word bizarre looked bizarre itself, far more bizarre than Roy Harper.

He couldn't help his hair color. He didn't choose it. He couldn't help that his soulmate, whoever they were, had black hair.

The concept was simple. You had your own hair color, the one that was determined by your DNA. And then the magic came in- a strip of your hair was the color of your soulmate's hair. Roy hated that his hair was literally orange, and his soulmate's was pitch black.

You see, most people had normal colors. For example, a brunet with a blond soulmate didn't have hair that didn't look too odd. But no, Roy had to look like a jack-o-lantern and a bat had hate sex in his hair. Which is why he wore a hat during his time as Speedy, because if people saw the jet black streak of hair along with the orange hair that he'd have, it wouldn't be hard to realize that Roy Harper was in fact, Speedy.

Some people got lucky. For example, his mentor, Green Arrow, AKA Oliver Queen, he and his soulmate Dinah were both blonds, and their shades were very close. Oliver looked normal.

When he quit being Speedy and started being Red Arrow, he dyed that black streak of hair as close to his shade of orange as possible. The process was tedious, however, and it sucked. He tried cutting off the black streak, but he only ended up with an awful haircut.

He was eighteen when it happened. He was with Artemis Crock, fighting and chasing their enemies, when Cheshire attacked. She pinned Roy down, said a few words, then kissed him.

Roy couldn't help but notice that since her face was closer to him, so was her hair. She had a streak of orange that was hidden in the rest of her black hair.

He'd never seen another black/orange haired person before that.

After a few months, he found out that he was a clone of the original Roy Harper. He began a search for him. Throughout the years of his journey, he encountered Cheshire often, still looking for the orange streak she hid in her black hair.

The memories were a blur. He only recalled ending up in a small room with the villainous woman, then her touching him in the most sensitive of spots, and then waking up in the morning naked, with Jade next to him.

They were soulmates, there was no doubt.

A few more years passed. Roy had no idea how it happened, but between the days and nights that passed, he began to feel romantic feelings for Jade. He was supposed to- she was his soulmate, after all, but he never imagined himself being in an actual relationship with her. Out of respect and love, he stopped dying his hair. He allowed the jet black streak among the orange to go free. Jade stopped hiding her orange streak as well.

They got married.

Roy was still looking for the original Roy.

Jade left him because he had pretty much dedicated his life to finding the other Roy, and was not dedicated to her.

Roy became a mess. He continued to dye his hair after she left, because he didn't want to be forced to remember her every time he looked in a mirror.

Jade came into his life again one day, with a baby. It was their daughter.

_Whoops._

She offers him a deal- if they find the original Roy, then he'd get his shit together. They end up doing so.

Original Roy's hair had a brown streak.

Somehow, it's reassuring to Roy. Ever since finding out he was a clone, he always felt like he was just the cheaper version of the original, the exact same, but worse.

But he wasn't. He and original Roy were destined to different soulmates.

As promised, Roy got his shit together. More years passed, and he watched his daughter begin to grow up as he moved in with his wife.

He knew that when the time came, Lian would be the next Speedy, and he and Jade would provide her plenty of training to be the perfect successor.

Jade, oh how he loved Jade. A woman with a blend of mystery, courage, predominance, determination, and strength. He was mad at himself for once disappointing her.

Now, when he looks at himself in the mirror each morning and sees the black streak in his hair, he doesn't think it looks Halloween-y, weird, or _bizarre._

He thinks it's the best thing in the world.


	4. Cinnamon Rolls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cinnamon Rolls was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**CINNAMON ROLLS**

**(Artemis Crock x Zatanna Zatara)**

Artemis Crock was born with a "14" on her left wrist, and a "15" on her right wrist. Jade Nguyen was born with a "18" on her left wrist, and a "19" on her right wrist.

"You're a lucky girl, Artemis." Jade teased her one day after dinner when they were out on the balcony and comparing wrists, "You get to meet your soulmate when you're younger."

"We meet them at around the same time, though." the younger sister responded, then looked away. "Are you ever scared?"

"Why would I be scared?"

"Well… _I'm_ scared. What if I don't like them?"

"It does happen occasionally… that being, soulmates not getting along." Jade acknowledged, "But I think you'll be fine."

"I'm still scared. What if I never know who's my soulmate?" Artemis asked.

"They never taught you about finding soulmates in school?" Jade raised an eyebrow.

Artemis shook her head. "No. They believe it's a subject for parents to talk about with her kids."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Schools these days." she muttered, despite being thirteen and still in school herself. "I'll explain it to you."

Artemis listened eagerly.

"When you meet your soulmate, your numbers disappear. You might notice the disappearance immediately, but you most likely won't, since you can't feel anything. When you notice your numbers are gone, you then have to ask the person who you suspect is your soulmate their age. If it's been awhile since you met them, you have to ask them their age when they met you." Jade explained.

"Sounds complicated." Artemis muttered.

"I think you're up to the task." Jade smiled and ruffled her sister's hair.

* * *

Since Artemis's fifteenth birthday, she would constantly check her wrists every time she met someone new, even if they didn't look fourteen years old.

More time passed, she met Green Arrow and ended up becoming his protégé. She no longer had time to constantly check for soulmates, she had a world to protect.

Artemis joined the Team, and was still too busy to think about soulmates.

In the fall, a new girl, Zatanna, joined. Which was awesome, because the more members, the better. She shook hands with the young magician, welcoming her to the Team.

She went home that night, and showered. Just as she was about to put shampoo on her scalp, Artemis noticed that her numbers were gone.

Passing out in the shower and having your wheelchair-bound mother help you get out wasn't exactly fun.

A few days later, Artemis returned to Mount Justice, seeking out Zatanna.

"Oh, hey!" the black-haired girl cheered once she spotted Artemis, "Artemis, aren't you?"

"Yep. Fourteen, aren't you?" Artemis asked, a smirk on her face.

As if Zatanna couldn't get paler. "Well," she said, finally gaining herself, "My name's Zatanna, not fourteen. But yes, I'm also fourteen." she chuckled. "Fifteen?"

Artemis's smirk turned into a foolish grin. "Sure am."

"Well, Fifteen, I really look forward to getting to know you and work with you." Zatanna replied.

"Same here." Artemis smiled, then heard Wally yell her name in the distance. "Gotta go. Baywatch wants something."

Zatanna laughed, "Alright. I'll see you around."

Artemis gave her a quick hug and whispered, "See ya, Fourteen." before turning around and walking towards Wally.

Turns out he was pissed because she ate all of his cinnamon rolls, but that's another tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was so short but eh, whatever. I have a lot of "cute" ones I plan on writing, too many cute ones for my taste. The next time I'm updating this, the story is gonna be sad, and none of you can stop me. [insert tacky evil laugh here]


	5. Half of My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of My Heart was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**HALF OF MY HEART**

**(Kaldur'ahm x Tula)**

Atlanteans are well known for their magic, it's no secret. What they're not well known for, for the most part, was their soulmate system.

"Look at your necklaces," Kaldur'ahm's teacher said once when she was teaching her first-grade class. Kaldur grabbed his and looked at it like the rest of the young ones in the room. "Your necklaces are an abstract shape, one of a kind." she continued, "However, there's another half to your shape. One that fits with your shape perfectly. Your soulmate has this other half. Now, can somebody tell me what a soulmate is?"

"Oh! I know!" Garth raised his hand excitedly.

"Yes, Garth?" the teacher smiled.

"It's somebody you're destined to love and be connected to for the rest of your life. Like get married and stuff." Garth explained.

"Correct!" the teacher smiled even more, "Now, kids, wrap your hands around your shapes."

They did that.

"Kaldur?"

"Yes, ma'am?" Kaldur's blue-green eyes flickered up at his teacher.

"What does your necklace feel like? Is it warm or cold?"

"It is warm." Kaldur confirmed. The teacher seemed somewhat taken aback, but then smiled again.

"Well," she said to the class, "The closer you are to your soulmate, the warmer your necklace is. The further away you are to your soulmate, the colder it gets."

The bell rang. The young students began to make their way out. Despite being only seven years old, Kaldur put two and two together. He had been close to his soulmate that day. He just had to figure out who it was.

He didn't want it to be his main priority, however. Education came first. His necklace would hardly ever be completely cold, so he knew he'd just find his soulmate somewhere in Atlantis eventually.

When he got older, he began to spend less time in groups and more time with his friends Tula and Garth. Observing the shape of Tula's necklace, he knew they were soulmates, but didn't know how to confront her about it. She probably knew about it, too. He liked the warm, comforting feeling that the necklace radiated upon his skin when he was around her.

They were destined to be together.

He became Aqualad at age thirteen, and was too busy working with King Arthur to focus on Tula. He spent a lot of his time on land, ignoring the cold feeling of the necklace around his neck. Sometimes, if he needed to, he'd leave it at home.

He'd come back to Atlantis occasionally, telling himself that this time it'd be the time to confront Tula, but he never found himself having the courage.

He didn't know why.

As he got older, he spent more time on the land. At sixteen, he and his friends Robin and Kid Flash (and now Superboy) formed the Team. By then, he didn't even remember the last time he touched the ocean.

Batman began to notice his longing for the ocean as time passed, lecturing him about how he couldn't have half of his heart on land and half of his heart in the ocean.

That he had to pick one.

He loved his friends, no doubt.

But he loved Tula more.

He returned to Atlantis, escorted by Arthur to a dinner. He sat next to Tula.

"I've decided to return to Atlantis," he said to her, "to be with you." he gently placed his hand on her and used his other hand to show her his necklace, which was currently very warm.

She was wide-eyed for a few moments, but then looked down. "Kaldur…" she said, pulling her hand away, "I'm with Garth."

"But we are soulmates." Kaldur responded calmly after a few moments.

"I know, I know," Tula whispered, "but I'm in love with Garth."

"Tula-"

"I'm sorry, Kaldur'ahm." she apologized, then looked up at Arthur. "May I be dismissed?"

"Of course, Tula." Arthur smiled then returned to his conversation. Kaldur watched as Tula left.

He returned to the land, trying to ignore the cold feeling of his necklace. Heartbroken and angry, he tossed it across his room in the cave, where it clattered somewhere in the distance.

Both Tula and Garth joined the team sometime later. Kaldur had to distance himself from them or else he was sure he'd go insane.

Tula was killed on the field only after about two years of being on the team.

Nightwing would apologize and apologize over and over again for being unable to save her, but Kaldur didn't listen.

When he went back to Mount Justice that night, he found his room had been frozen solid.

He wasn't going to deal with this anymore.

This _was not fair._

The world watched as Kaldur'ahm switched sides, and joined arms with his father.


	6. Ink'd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ink'd was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**INK'D**

**(Artemis Crock x Wally West)**

When Artemis was three years old, Paula Crock would often find her with marker all over arms, legs, and face. She'd laugh and scold her lightly.

"Artemis," Paula would say, "I understand you like being creative, but you look like a rainbow threw up on you! Make sure your markers stay on the paper and off of your skin."

"I didn't do it!" Artemis cried, eyes wide, "They just keep appearing! And it's scaring me!"

Paula raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Yeah! I don't know what to do!"

Paula smiled, pulling her daughter up into her lap, "It's your soulmate, then. Not you. I'm sorry."

"My soulmate?" the young girl cocked an eyebrow, "Is it a ghost?"

"No, Artemis. Your soulmate was drawing on their own skin, and it showed up on yours." her mother explained.

"Really? That's not fair!" Artemis pouted.

"You can do it, too, you know." Paula explained, "If you draw on your skin, it will show up on their skin."

"I don't want to!" Artemis kept pouting, "My drawings are mine and their drawings are theirs! We shouldn't have to share!"

"Artemis." Paula scolded lightly again. Artemis sighed in response. Paula smiled. "Why don't you try it out?"

"Okay." Artemis muttered. Paula got up and handed her a green marker. Artemis drew an arrow on the back of her hand.

* * *

When Artemis was thirteen years old, Paula Crock would often find her with dicks all over arms, legs, and face.

No, not literal dicks. Drawn dicks.

She had tried to message her soulmate asking them to stop a few times before, but never came back with any sort of response. Paula later explained to her that the magical system wanted to people to meet the "natural way", and if you wrote a direct message like "Who are you?", it wouldn't get to the other one's skin. Direct messages only worked if they had already met.

So, Artemis had to deal with that nuisance for a while.

One year later, the back of her hand started to appear with things like "Need 80 cents for library fine", "Track meeting at 5:30", and "Detention room 283". The detention one came up the most often.

Sounds like my soulmate has quite the school life, Artemis observed. She wondered where they went to school.

At fifteen, Artemis decided she had enough of guessing games and wanted to find out for herself. She wrote "Gotham Academy" on the back of her hand. The next day, she walked into Mount Justice to Wally freaking out. He was basically screaming towards M'gann. He wasn't mad at her, in fact, he seemed panicked.

 _"M'gann, what's going on?"_ Artemis contacted the alien telepathically.

 _"Wally's panicking because he thinks Robin is his soulmate."_ M'gann explained, _"He found 'Gotham Academy' written on his wrist this morning. That's where Robin goes to school."_

Artemis was silent.

 _"Is something wrong?"_ M'gann asked after a few moments.

 _"That's what- that's what I wrote on my hand yesterday night!"_ Artemis explained.

 _"Oh?"_ M'gann raised her eyebrow, _"Aww! That's so cute! You guys are soulmates!"_

 _"M'gann!"_ Artemis hissed.

 _"Do you want me to tell him?"_ M'gann asked.

_"No!"_

_"Alright, alright. But you have to."_ M'gann disconnected the link. "Wally, calm down!" she said, grabbing his shoulders. "I don't think he's your soulmate." she smirked at Artemis. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"O-okay." Wally stabilized himself. M'gann gave him a reassuring smile before flying off to the living room to go watch a movie with Conner.

"Wally?" Artemis asked.

"What do you want, blondie?" Wally grumbled, turning around to go follow M'gann.

"Wally. It's serious." the archer grabbed the speedster's shoulder, alarming him. He spun around, a bemused look on his face.

Artemis took off her glove and shoved the back of her hand in Wally's face.

Wally looked at it for a few moments, wide eyed. He then let out a horrified scream and dashed off.

"What is happening?" Kaldur was the first to appear, but the rest weren't too far behind.

"Nothing bad." Artemis reassured, "I just scared Baywatch and he ran off."

Robin snickered.

"Go on, watch your movies or whatever," Artemis encouraged, "I've gotta apologize to him or else he'll pout like a two year old."

They did just that, but M'gann contacted her again.

_"I'm supposing it didn't go well?"_

_"Nope."_

The link disconnected right after that.

"Wally!" Artemis pounded on his door once she arrived, "C'mon, open up!"

"Go away!" Wally shouted.

"If you don't open this door, I will!" Artemis threatened.

Wally laughed from the other side. "I'd love to see you try!"

Artemis took one of her electric arrows and jammed it into the door's digital lock, frying it. She then pulled open the door. Wally looked at her in absolute shock and disbelief.

"We need to talk about this." Artemis insisted, folding her arms.

Wally sighed, looking down. "I don't wanna be your soulmate."

He was honest, and they didn't like each other, so Artemis didn't know why she felt hurt. "That makes two of us." she mumbled, trying to hold back her pain. "But we still need to talk."

"What more is there to talk about?" Wally muttered.

"We need to respect each other's skin," she began, "no more drawing on it unless we absolutely have to. And don't even think about getting a tattoo."

"Okay, fine." Wally agreed, "Deal." he stuck out his hand for Artemis to shake. She smiled, gladly shaking it as well.

* * *

The months passed, and Artemis worked together with Wally on a weekly basis. Christ, he was so annoying and full of himself.

Yet, she couldn't help but begin to feel attached to the red headed speedster. She tried to push her feelings away, but felt like she was losing.

And Artemis hated losing.

But… Wally was kind of cute… and funny...

It was New Year's Eve, and the League was under control of the Light. They had to fight their own mentors and cure them from the Light's control before making it into the meeting room.

 _HAPPY NEW YEAR, JUSTICE LEAGUE_ popped up on a hologram and a robotic voice echoed the words throughout the room.

Wally picked her up.

"I should've done this a long time ago."

Artemis smirked, "No kidding."

And they kissed. Artemis loved every second of it.

** 5 YEARS LATER **

Artemis, now undercover as Tigress, boarded the submarine with Kaldur. She met Black Manta along with the Light, and got herself settled. She walked into her room that night, ready to just go to bed. She took off her clothes until she was in nothing but an old t-shirt and underwear, and noticed something on the back of her hand, written in what might as well have been chicken scratch. Still, she could make out the words.

_Good luck, babe. I love you._


	7. Do you think it'll be enough?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think it'll be enough? was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

_**Rest in peace, Wally West.** _

* * *

**DO YOU THINK IT'LL BE ENOUGH?**

**(Artemis Crock x Wally West)**

Twenty-one.

There were twenty-one Reach bombs.

"I wouldn't call it simple. You'll be attempting to syphon its power with your own speed trails. It'll take a massive amount of kinetic energy."

A look of concern spread across Artemis's face. "Do you think it'll be enough?"

* * *

From day one, Wally West had the words "Do you think it'll be enough?" imprinted upon his arm. At first, he didn't know why he had random black symbols that contrasted against his pale skin. But then, of course, Wally West learned how to read. He understood that the symbols were words, and that the words made a question.

 _What would be enough?_ He always wondered. He also wondered why he had words on his arm. He asked his mom why he had the words. She explained to him that everyone had them, and he would learn why they were there later. That he'd have to be a bit more grown up when he learned- that it was improper for a child to learn why at such a young age.

It was the day after Wally's tenth birthday did his parents decide to have 'the talk'.

"Wally," his mother said, a sad smile on her face, "we need to talk about the words on your arm."

"Oh?" Wally raised an eyebrow.

His mother studied his arm. "Those are the last words your soulmate will ever say to you."

"What?" Wally asked, the disappointment clear in his voice. He knew what soulmates were, and knew he was destined for one, but he never knew the words on his arm and the soulmate thing were connected, much less did he know they were the _last_ words. "How am I supposed to know who's my soulmate, then?"

"That's the thing. You don't know until one of you dies." his father sighed, "I'm sorry, Wally. It's just how things work."

"But that's _not fair!"_ Wally cried.

"We know, son." his father replied, "But you just have to accept it, okay?"

Wally sighed,

"Okay."

x

Wally kissed his girlfriend goodnight before turning off the lamp. He lays down on his bed, adjusting himself to get comfortable so he can sleep. He then felt slender (but strong) arms wrap around his torso, and Artemis' head burrow into his neck.

"Love you, Arty." he muttered, only half-awake. Artemis only makes a small noise in response, obviously about to fall asleep as well.

Still, Wally can't help but have the thought linger at the back of his head; _what if she isn't the one?_

* * *

_Recognized: Kid Flash, B03_

Wally exited the Watchtower and began to run towards the chrysalis which was now expanding. It suddenly dawned upon him as to what Artemis had said.

"Do you think it'll be enough?"

No.

No.

No.

This _couldn't_ be the last time he saw Artemis.

He suddenly stops to turn back, but then realizes that if he turns back, the Earth would be destroyed. Bart and Barry desperately needed the extra kinetic energy.

And it was his duty as a hero to save the world.

He continued to run, the snow flying behind him. He makes his way into the chrysalis.

"I think it might just be working!"

"It's definitely slowing, but not _stopping._ Even at our top speed, I'm not certain the two of us can generate enough kinetic energy."

"Then how about the _three_ of us?"

Wally makes his entrance, running alongside Bart and Barry.

 _Stay in character, West._ He tells himself, _Don't let them know. They'd slow down._

"I may not be as fast as you two, but I can add my fair share of kinetic energy. Besides, I can't let the new kid take _all_ the credit for saving the world!" he grins.

"Good man!"

" _So_ crash!"

Bart and Barry take off.

"Cm'on, Wallman. You can do better than that!" Wally says, pushing himself, though the thought of Artemis strayed at the back of his mind.

He let out a scream as he felt the extra chrysalis energy shock him like lightning.

Then, he was struck again.

"Bart, we have to slow down more!" he hears Barry yell, "Try to syphon off some of the energy attacking Wally."

 _No! Don't!_ Wally screams in his head, _It's useless! I'm destined to this!_

A third strike, and another yelp of pain.

Wally lets out a grunt. "It's no good, Barry. Aw man, Artemis is _so_ gonna kill me for this! And don't even get me started on Mom and Dad!"

" _Kid-"_

"Just tell them, okay?" Wally requests, the words ' _Do you think it'll be enough?'_ in his mind. At least he finally knew that Artemis was truly the one, after years of having anxiety swell inside him. _Yes, babe, it was enough._ He can't help but feel at peace.

" _KID!"_

Wally feels himself be swept away, and everything goes to white.


	8. Saboteur or Soulmate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saboteur or Soulmate? was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr.

**SABOTEUR OR SOULMATE?**

**(Bart Allen x Jaime Reyes)**

Love and hate were supposed to be balanced.

That wasn't the case for Bart Allen.

No, his world was full of hate. It'd been full of hate ever since he could remember, full of hate since the Reach's takeover, nearly three decades before his birth.

He'd felt love before. Not the romantic kind, but the family kind. From his mother. From his father. From his aunt. From his cousin Wally. From Irey and Jai. From Artemis. He should've felt it from grandpa Barry and grandma Iris. They were both dead far before he was born, however.

But, besides that, the world was full of hate. A heavy collar was clasped around his neck and he was forced to work every day and night, or else he'd feel the wrath of one of the Beetles.

Love was very hard to find.

But he was destined for it.

Bart didn't want to love.

He wanted to survive.

Hate was destiny as well. It wasn't that hard to find. And it made sense to Bart.

Left wrist, right wrist.

Left was love. Right was hate.

It was a simple concept, one that the Earth created, and not the Reach. It was quite possibly the only thing left from the world before the Reach apocalypse.

Wally had explained it to him one day. When you locked eyes with your soulmate for the first time, their name appeared on your left wrist. When you locked eyes with your worst enemy for the first time, their name appeared on your right wrist. A person's life goal was to breed with their soulmate and kill their enemy. To keep the balance between love and hate.

"I'll show you." Wally offered. Bart eagerly nodded. The Flash smiled and pulled back his sleeves. ' _Artemis Crock'_ was imprinted on his left wrist and ' _Thaddeus Thawne'_ was imprinted on his right.

Bart had looked at his own blank wrists, wondering who he was destined to love and who he was destined to kill.

* * *

Bart had found himself meeting the gaze of Blue Beetle's oranges, his own green eyes widening in fear.

He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die.

Bart managed to escape with only a broken arm and a cracked rib. On his way back home, he noticed something on his right wrist.

_Jaime Reyes_

His blood ran cold as he realized it was his job to fight and kill Blue Beetle.

But _how?!_

* * *

Time travel.

Time travel was the answer.

Kill Blue Beetle, and prevent the Reach apocalypse.

Wally didn't agree with this idea at first, telling Bart he was far too young to do this. He had volunteered to go himself, but it wasn't his duty, Bart would remind him. Still, Wally would pout. Bart didn't need to listen to him then, and he didn't need to listen to him now. After all, Wally was dead. To spare the details, Thaddeus Thawne had won their war, nearly killing Bart in the process as well.

It took a few years to gather all of the appropriate supplies for a time machine, and Bart required a lot of help from Nathaniel Tyron.

"How's it coming?" Nathaniel asked as he approached Bart.

"Almost finished." Bart replied, not bothering to look at him.

"Wish I could go along."

"Sorry. Only seats one." Bart finally turned his head to look at the man.

"You understand this trip to the past will fry the machine's circuitry. This is a one-way ticket."

"Does _this_ look like a future worth returning to?" Bart later let out a sigh. "Well, I better get in character, Neutron."

" _Please,_ don't use that name!" Neutron begged, though Bart had already sped off. "I was Neutron for too many years… through too much destruction." Bart returned in costume, and Nathaniel handed him the small blue marble in which would save him. "Curing me and saving Flash's life. Y'know, it's only the beginning."

"I know, Nathaniel." Bart acknowledged. "Big mission, lots to do. Better get to it." he slid on his goggles before stepping into the time machine.

* * *

Bart arrived into the past, immediately confronted by Beast Boy, Robin, and Nightwing. After all of that chaos, he finally got to meet the man who he was supposed to kill. The one whose life he had to end before he and the Reach claimed Earth as their own. Blue Beetle. _Jaime Reyes._

After meeting him and figuring out all of his potential vulnerabilities, Bart went home. Well, to his new home of Jay and Joan's. He stripped out of his costume, tossing it wherever. In the dim light of his bedroom, he noticed something on his other wrist. Squinting his eyes to focus on it, he soon realized what it was.

_Jaime Reyes_


	9. I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You is an original soulmate prompt that I wrote in June 2016.

**I'M TOO AFRAID TO SAY I LOVE YOU**

**(Artemis Crock x Wally West)**

**PART 1: Wally**

* * *

_Okay, okay, I have a confession to make._

_My favorite movie is a chick flick._

_HA! The heck, dude? Wouldn't expect that from you._

_I know, I know. Go ahead and laugh. But let me explain_

_It's nice that you came out to me, Wally._

_I'm not gay! I swear, Dick._

_Not like there's anything wrong with being gay, but, y'know. Just. I'm not._

_Alright, alright. Which movie?_

_I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You_

_That one? Dude, that's old._

_I know. But it's a good movie._

_Yeah, I guess. Whatever. Anyways, Bruce wants me to get into uniform and patrol. See you later._

_See you._

I sighed, putting my phone down and ran a hand through my hair. Now officially bored since Dick stopped texting me, I spun around in my computer chair.

What? I'm fifteen, I'm not an adult just yet. Let me have the moment.

I spun around too fast and ended up breaking the chair within a matter of seconds, which resulted in me falling onto the floor. I created a large thump as I landed. I let out a groan of pain as I heard my mother call out my name from down the stairs.

" _Wally? Are you okay?"_

"Fine, Mom." I replied, placing a hand on my forehead. I guess five years of super speed didn't help me with my stupidity at all.

I glanced up at my window, and let out a smile. I quickly stood up, placing my hands on the glass.

It was about time some snow came!

Okay, I have another confession.

I love snow.

Not like, blizzard snow, but gentle-snowflakes-falling-from-the-sky kind of snow. It was the Tuesday after winter finals in late December, and we were finally starting to get snow. About time.

Confession three. I love Christmas time in general. It's when the crappy, big-bad world goes away in favor for kindness and clean, white, fields for miles. It's for colorful, welcoming lights to be put up, and families to warm up around the fire.

I never told anyone this, actually. I'm a dude, okay? It's just… something you don't talk about. But I kind of like keeping it to myself, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

Of course, I did just confess to Dick that my favorite movie was _I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You_ , so my secret is partially out.

You see, that movie has been my favorite for as long as I can remember.

I was four years old, sitting in Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry's living room, looking up at the heavy, crappy box TV. The movie _I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You_ was on. I remembered all of the pretty Christmas lights, and watching the protagonist, Susie, walk through a winter wonderland in a long, white, fur coat. The small shops were open, children were playing in the street, a choir was humming melodies to people passing by.

At four, I didn't understand the plot of the movie. I just liked the way it looked and sounded. It made me feel happy.

When I was older, I finally understood.

You see, our world is kind of weird. I learned this in fourth grade science. When two people begin to fall in love, a tinted, pink-red glow forms around the other. The stronger the love, the more vibrant the glow. At a certain point, one has to say "I love you". Those three words determine whether or not your lover is your soulmate. If your lover isn't your soulmate, the tint will disappear. If your lover is your soulmate, their red tint will be replaced by a beautiful white.

So, _I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You_ is basically just that. It centers around Susie, a girl who is about to graduate high school. She'd been with her boyfriend since freshman year, and graduation was coming around. She loved her boyfriend, Thomas, very much. And he loved her, too. But neither dared to say "I love you." to the other. Not until the night before graduation, when they were sitting in Thomas's truck at a drive-in, did she say "I love you." to him.

Thomas's red glow disappeared, and a white glow didn't take its place.

Susie was heartbroken.

She swore she'd never fall in love, and spends the next few months very depressed, and basically moped around for a while, until the holidays come around. Trying to visit his grandparents in Kentucky for Thanksgiving, Thomas drives down, but was killed in a car accident. Susie is heartbroken once again, still loving Thomas even though he wasn't her soulmate. Thomas's brother, Aaron, comforted her. The two slowly begin to fall in love, and Susie is scared and in denial when it comes down to her feelings for Aaron.

The ending is kind of cheesy, but for a 50's movie, what could you expect? Anyways, the ending basically happens a few seconds before the new year, and Susie utters "I love you." as the clock strikes midnight, a white glow radiates around the both of them, and they kiss. Then, there's cheering, happiness, you know the New Year's drill.

I honestly don't know why I like that movie so much. I know why others do, though. It reflects the fear people have when falling in love with each other.

I've never fallen in love, and it's not too big of a concern. I just like the movie, y'know?

* * *

Christmas passes, the days slowly become warmer and longer. Next thing I know, I'm rescuing a half-Kryptonian from Cadmus with my friends. Who would've thought? Not me, that's for sure.

We form a team. Sweeeet. This is looking better everyday.

And then _she_ shows up.

Ugggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Christ, she's so damn _annoying!_ The team was awesome before then. I had my best bro Robin, I had my second best bro Aqualad, then there was M'gann who is totally going to end up as my soulmate, and there's… Superboy. I don't hate him, he just has a lot to learn, and he's a good contributor to the Team.

But _Artemis._

She's an archer. So what? There's like, twelve million super hero archers. Don't deny it. Why does _she_ have the be the token archer, though? Why couldn't it be Roy? I don't care if he's busy going through his rebellious-angsty-I-don't-need-no-Green-Arrow phase, this was just ridiculous.

And she wouldn't let me catch a damn break, that was for sure.

And then… I kind of liked that.

As we went through missions and got to know each other, well… she can't be _too_ bad, right?

No! What the hell? She's a bitch! Well, no, Wallman, she isn't a _bitch._ She's just… Christ, I don't know.

I hated her. That's what.

Well, I don't _hate_ hate her.

I just needed to admit it already.

I'm falling head over heels for Artemis.

* * *

It wasn't until mid December did I see a noticeable tint around Artemis.

And that meant she saw one around me, too.

We're falling in love.

And the both of us are too stubborn to admit it.

* * *

Well, the Team and I just almost died.

Our mentors were controlled by the Light, and we saved the day just in time for the computer in the Watchtower's meeting room to say five words in its bland, robotic voice.

" _Happy New Year, Justice League."_

Screw it. Life's short.

I pick her up.

"I should've done this a long time ago."

She lets out an amused chuckle.

"No kidding."

We lock lips, enjoying each other's emb- wait, is that root beer flavored chap stick she's wearing? That's so cool! I didn't even know that existed. I wonder if there's a Chicken Whizee flavor? If that's the case, then I'd totally make out with her all night. Oh wait, right. Kissing. Yeah. We're enjoying each other's embrace, and her lips are soft and feel great against mine.

But now, I'm too afraid to say a certain three special words to her face.

* * *

Over the next few months, I feel like a distressed fish on an Oklahoman's boat.

Not exactly a good position to be in.

I want to tell her I love her, but I'm so scared.

I've never related to Susie so much in my entire life.

* * *

I messed up.

I messed up, big time.

It's currently April and the weather's nice, so Artemis and I decided to slow things down and take a long walk in the park. We held hands as we passed by the morning dew and blooming flowers.

We sit down a bench, which is slightly damp, but ignorable. She leans onto my shoulder, talks about what she plans on doing for summer break, and asks if I want to come over later for dinner. I always say yes.

"Do you have to ask every time?" I ask in a teasing tone, "The answer is gonna be 'yes' every time because I lo-"

I catch myself.

She looks at me blankly for a few moments before narrowing her eyebrows.

"I know what you were gonna say."

I don't respond.

"If you really loved me, you wouldn't have hesitated, Wally." she accused.

I bit my lip. "I'm scared."

She sighed. She wasn't in the mood to argue, so she got up and left.

Since I do have the ability to run at the speed of sound, I could've chased after her, but I ultimately decided against it. I let her be.

If life were a movie, I'd run up to her, yell her name, mutter a breathless "I love you." as I cup her face and kiss her and her red glow turns white.

But life isn't a movie.

Instead, I sat on the bench, having this one question on my mind.

_Did she really think I didn't truly love her?_

But my love was obviously true- our glows around each other proved it. Right?

Whatever? Who knows anymore?

* * *

"Do you forgive me?" I ask a few days after heading back to her house after a recent mission. She didn't look at me for a few moments.

"Yeah." she finally mumbled, looking up at me, a soft smile on her face.

I give her a quick peck on the lips before she walks inside.

* * *

We didn't bring up April's incident for months after that.

In fact, Artemis and I seemed to be subconsciously drifting apart.

I could see her reddish glow slowly starting to fade away.

I couldn't tell whether I was more scared to be in love with her, or to not be in love with her.

_What would Susie do?_

Hell, why am I asking myself this? Susie's just a character in a cheesy 50's movie. If I made all of my life decisions based upon stuff like that, I wouldn't be in a good spot.

* * *

It's Christmas time and we just got done setting up the tall Christmas tree in the cave. Rob is talking to Batman, M'gann is setting up more decorations with Superboy (who tolerates it for the time being), and Zatanna, Kaldur, and Rocket are all preparing food for a dinner we'd soon be having. Artemis is resting on the couch, staring at an arrow, moving it back and forth between her fingers.

"Artemis?" I ask her. Her eyes dart towards me.

"'Sup, Baywatch?" she smiled at me.

I pull a Ring Pop out of my pocket and hand it to her. "Uh, Merry Christmas." I murmur awkwardly.

She lets out a laugh, takes it out of its packaging, and slips the ruby candy onto her ring finger. "Are you proposing to me?"

"Well, uh, not necessarily since I'm only sevente-"

"The answer is yes." Artemis interrupts, pulling me into a hug. Her voice softened. "Y'know, you've seen anxious for a while now. Don't be. I'm here, and I love you, Wally."

I could feel my heart drop in my chest.

If Artemis said that on purpose, then damn, she may be a girl but she had _way_ bigger balls than me.

She separated our hug, a mischievous smile on her face. She knew what she had just done, so my suspicions about Artemis having bigger balls than me was confirmed. She could see I was still shocked.

Once I got over my shock, I noticed something.

Something different.

And it was that Artemis Crock looked stunning in white.


	10. Debilitate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Debilitate is an original soulmate prompt that I wrote as a follow up to "I'm Too Afraid To Say I Love You" in June 2016.

**DEBILITATE**

**(Artemis Crock x Wally West)**

**PART 2: Artemis**

* * *

 

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

So, you could definitely feel my hope when I saw that Wally West was finally surrounded in a white embrace instead of a red one. As cheesy as it sounded, he was my star. Having him for three million years? Count me in.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

What I quickly learned, however, was that Wally West only takes about four and a half years to do so.

I thought my eyes were just playing tricks on me. Wally always shined bright, didn't he? I loved him, so of course he did. I'd just gotten to the white glow that surrounded him- it wasn't getting duller, wasn't it? No, that was stupid. There was no reason it should've been.

There was no way it was fading, right?

_Right?_

Why was I so goddamn foolish?

Everyday, Wally was getting closer to his fucking death, and I ignored it. I thought his fading glow was a stupid mind trick. I never got a chance to say goodbye to him. His glow was practically gone by March, and I didn't say a word. I thought I was being smart doing that. I thought it was something wrong with me and not with him.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

Wally West, however, only took four.

I ignored it.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

Wally West, however, only took three.

I still ignored it.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

Wally West, however, only took two.

I ignored it more than anything in the world.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

Wally West, however, only took one.

I didn't dare open up my mouth. I didn't dare say even the simplest of words, like, _"Wally, your white glow is fading, I think you're slowly reaching your death."_ as blunt as it sounded.

A star takes roughly three million years to debilitate.

Wally West debilitated in June.

Meanwhile, those stupid stars still got the chance to glow.

Every night, I walk out onto my balcony, and I look at those glowing stars in the sky. I know they're all dead- every last one of them, and their light was finally getting to Earth. However, despite their deceased status, they still had the right to glow. Why couldn't the same apply to Wally?

Why is _he_ dead? Why can't I see _him_ glow anymore? Why do _those_ stupid objects in the sky get the right to glow? Why can I never see _him_ again, but I can see _those_ stars?

God, I'm going insane. I can't think straight. I'm losing my sanity. I'm angry at stars.

But I could give myself the benefit of the doubt, right? My very own star only glowed for a little over four years. I had the right to be angry.

And that's the thing.

I couldn't care less about the stars in the sky- they had nothing to do with me. What I want is _my_ star, _my_ Wally, to glow for me.

But I'd never see him again.

I would do anything to have him back.


	11. Good Luck Charms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Luck Charms is an original soulmate prompt I wrote in June 2016.

**GOOD LUCK CHARMS**

**(Wally West x Dick Grayson)**

* * *

If you asked Richard Grayson why he thought the tattoos on the palm of his right hand were good luck charms, he wouldn't be able to explain why.

He'd look at them, tilting his head with a lock of black hair falling over his face as he did the process. He thought the more intensely he stared at them, the better luck he'd get. Of course, with the dim lighting of the circus changing rooms, it made them hard to see. Not to mention having to block out the muffled, blasting music from the arena outside to focus on them better.

He always performed best when he looked at his tattoos, he figured. They brought him the best luck he could possibly get out in the ring. In a way, they seemed to protect him. Of course, reflecting back on this, Richard Grayson knew this was simply a pseudo-effect, but the thought of him being a child and getting joy out of his innocence made the older Grayson smile just a bit more.

It was a few weeks after Dick's eighth birthday when he was looking at his tattoos once again behind the circus curtains, trying to achieve the best of luck he could get. The shape of his tattoos were of that of a bird and a lightning bolt, and both were black. He liked to think the tattoos represented him, that they were destiny, as out in the ring he flew- he was apart of _The Flying Graysons_ , after all- and the lightning bolt represented how quick and precise he did his tricks.

Of course, time eventually came to get out into the ring. He joined his parents, and the audience applauded at their entrance. They began the show, doing their regular opening tricks with the other circus members before finally doing what they were knowing for- flying. As Dick went to help grab his parents who were swinging to the other side of the tent, the cable they were hanging from snapped.

He heard his mother yell his name as they fell to their death.

From that day on, Dick called himself an idiot. What an idiot he was to believe his tattoos were special. What an idiot he was to think they brought good luck. They were meaningless, stupid shapes on his hand, and had nothing spiritual or magical about them.

Bruce Wayne took the young boy into his arms. He trained him, and gave him the support his parents left behind with their lives. Dick knew he'd never see Bruce as his dad- more like a mentor, really- but regardless, he forgot about his tattoos. The nightmares he'd have every night when he fell asleep slowly ceased, and before he knew it, he felt normal again. He felt like he was going to be okay. Dick, The Flying Grayson, was a boy of the past. He was Robin now, and his job was to protect the city of Gotham- not entertain it.

A few months after he turned nine, he walked into the kitchen one morning to find Alfred pouring a cup of coffee that wasn't for Bruce.

"You don't need coffee, Barry." Bruce mumbled as he sipped his own.

"That's besides the point, Bruce." Barry Allen argued and smirked, then his smile dropped. "Come on! You _know_ the boys would get along great."

"They're heroes, we aren't setting them up for play-dates." Bruce mumbled.

Barry was the first to notice Dick was inside the kitchen. "Ah! There he is!" he got up quicker than Dick could register. "Hey Richard! It's been awhile since I've seen you! You've gotten taller, wow! Do you wanna make a new friend?"

Dick took a few seconds to catch up. Even though he's talked to Barry a few times, he was still getting used to the speedster's vocal pace. "What do you mean? What friend?" he finally asked.

"I have a nephew who's a hero just like you- well, not _just like you,_ but you know what I mean. I think you guys would get along really well. Does Bruce even let you have friends?" Barry asked. Bruce glared at him.

Dick shrugged, "I mean, I've never had a real friend before. Bruce lets me talk to people at school, but no one is ever allowed to come over."

"Let the boy make friends, Bruce!" Barry scolded.

"Having one speedster in the house is enough." Bruce mumbled.

Alfred let out a laugh, "And so is one brooding bat, Master Wayne."

Barry laughed too, and Dick couldn't help but chuckling.

"I don't have to bring him here, I can just take Richard with me." Barry offered. "Come on, Wally really needs some friends too."

Bruce sighed, "Fine. But I'm coming with. Dick, tell him your name is Robin, though. And wear sun glasses. I don't trust an eleven year old to keep your identity a secret."

Dick nodded, quickly eating his breakfast, getting dressed and heading out with Bruce and Barry.

x

Dick and Wally shook hands when first meeting.

"Robin."

"Wally. Or, you can call me Wall-man."

Dick rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"But in the hero world, I'm Kid Flash. KF for short."

"Robin. I'm Robin in the hero world. Rob for short." Dick teased.

"So, like, do you have any superpowers?" Wally asked.

"No. Just a really awe-always human." Dick replied.

"Awe-always?"

"Instead of awe _some,_ I'm awe _-always._ Because I'm awesome _all_ of the time, and not just _some_ of the time." Dick explained.

Wally snorted. "You're a dork."

Dick rolled his eyes once again. "So, you have the same powers as your uncle?"

Wally nodded quickly, his orange hair flying as he did. "Yeah! Wanna see!"

"Duh."

Wally took off running, and Dick watched his streak as he did. He had to admit, it was pretty cool. Within seconds, Wally returned.

"Huh. I guess you're awe-always, too." Dick observed.

"Heck yeah I am! Do you want a piggy back ride? It's really cool, I promise."

Dick was really intrigued by the idea. He looked over to his left, where Barry and Bruce were talking some distance away.

He nodded. "Sure."

Wally let him climb onto his back, and he took off running.

x

"Wally is really cool!" Dick exclaimed once he and Bruce were driving back to the manor, "He's really nice and funny. Can I be his friend, Bruce? Please?"

Bruce was silent for a few moments. "I suppose so, Dick." he finally said.

Dick just smiled.

* * *

Dick woke up the next morning with the sun landing on his face. He groaned, covering it with a blanket before finally getting up to get breakfast before school. He noticed as he was getting changed that something was wrong with his hand.

He squinted, and soon realized the little bird on his palm was blue, and the lightning bolt was red. "Huh." he said, making note to ask Bruce about it at the table.

Once he got there, it was the first thing he mentioned. He walked up to his mentor. "Hey, remember those black symbols I had on my hand? They're red and blue now." he mentioned, showing Bruce.

He'd never seen Bruce look nauseous before. But Bruce looked like he was ready to rid of every bit of breakfast that sat in his stomach.

"Hmm… I'm not sure." he lied. Dick could pick it up right away. Bruce almost seemed nervous, which was odd, because Bruce _never_ got nervous, _ever._

He immediately got up, whispered something to Alfred, and they both exited the room and began to whisper to each other.

Dick tried to listen in on the conversation, but ultimately couldn't make out the words.

Bruce left the room, and Dick quickly made his way to the kitchen so he wouldn't suspect eavesdropping.

"Come on," he said, "let's get you to school."

Dick knew better than to bring up the subject again.

x

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" Thomas, the boy sitting next to him whispered as they were listening to a guest-speaker talk in their classroom.

"Oh, this?" Dick showed him the blue and red tattoos, "I'm not sure, honestly. I'll have to look it up when I get home."

Thomas studied it. It then hit him. "Hey guys! Dick has a _girlfriend!"_ he whispered as loudly as he could without the adults in the front hearing him.

The other students couldn't hear him though, and Dick sat there confused.

"What?" Barbara whispered right back.

"Dick! He has a girlfriend! Look at his hand!"

"What does that have to with me having a girlfriend?" Dick asked, not wanting to admit he didn't have a girlfriend to try and seem cool. The other students looked at his tattoos and giggled.

"Dick has a girlfriend." they quietly teased.

"I don't get it!" Dick admitted.

At that moment, the bell rang, and the kids left for lunch. They got their food and sat down. "So, what's her name?" Thomas teased.

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Bruce never explained it to you?" Barbara asked.

"Explained _what?"_

"You didn't know?" Barbara asked. "When you meet your soulmate- basically, your girlfriend or boyfriend- wherever they touch you, that tattoo wherever they first touched you turns a different color. If you touch them, your tattoo turns a different color."

"Meaning both you and your girlfriend touched each other!" Thomas continued to tease.

"It looks like they shook hands." Barbara said, grabbing Dick's palm. "See? Both of their right hands touched each other."

Dick was then the one to feel sick as realization hit him.

Needless to say, he ended up going home early that day.

* * *

_Was keeping a secret like this from Wally okay?_

_Did Wally already know?_

Those were his two thoughts that occurred to him when he saw Wally for the second time.

Well, if Wally did know, he sure didn't act like it.

He decided to ignore the entire thing- there wasn't anything wrong with being friends, and besides, they were only kids. Too young to be soulmates.

* * *

 _His sixteenth birthday._ Dick promised to himself, _I'll tell him on his sixteenth birthday._

Dick was foolish to think that Wally would wait that long. He was a speedster, after all. The April before Wally's sixteenth birthday, he had already approached Dick, confessing in tears how much he was hopelessly in love with him and how he knew Dick probably wasn't gay, and overall being a big cry baby.

Dick rolled his eyes, "Shut up, you dork. We're soulmates."

He grabbed Wally's head and pulled him into a kiss.

Needless to say, from that day on, Wally West stopped being such a big baby.

Huh. Come to think of it, maybe those tattoos really were good luck charms.


	12. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm out of ideas. So I'll officially declare this the last chapter. It's really been fun writing this series of soulmate AUs, and I really missed writing about Bluepulse, since I haven't actually written (I've edited and published, but haven't written) stories about Bart and Jaime for almost 10 months.
> 
> With this wrap up, I decided that this was to go out with a bang (not a literal bang, this isn't rated M, hue hue I'm so funny) so I added humor (and a bit of making fun of myself/my other works) to contrast the somber theme in my usual Bluepulse stories.
> 
> With that, I present to you...

 

**SCARS**

**(Bart Allen x Jaime Reyes)**

I believe everybody could agree that Jaime Reyes has remained relatively unscathed his entire life- in his teen years, he'd always maintain this figure that his male classmates would kill for, with his glowing skin and fit and tone body. I mean, let's be real- being flirted with by pretty much every girl on the block must be awesome, right? They probably thought the dude must've been getting laid by the hour.

But really, that wasn't the case. Jaime was a kid of faith, the early 21st century era " _vegan"_ of sex. You know those people who go around saying " _I'm vegan!"_ love it, and want everyone to know it? Well, he was that, in a way. Jaime was celibate- if you don't know what that word means and don't feel like pulling up Google to find out, it's basically someone who waits until marriage to do the deed. He didn't go around bragging about he was celibate, though, but if anybody had asked him if he had gotten laid, he'd reply "I'm celibate." to clear things up. And he'd say it proud. He wasn't ashamed of being a virgin, which most males his age- or, again, let's be real, males in _general_ , couldn't achieve a level of enlightenment like that.

Now, you may think I'm some creepy, disembodied narrator just floating around, observing Jaime's every move and making fun of him because I have a low self-esteem. That's not the case.

I love the guy.

Wait, that sounds kind of weird.

Let me clear things up- Jaime and I are married. No, it was not an arranged marriage and I didn't pressure him into anything.

I just like poking fun at him.

I already knew practically everything about Jaime before I even met him, and yeah, again, that sounds weird, but I had no choice. I had to learn everything about him in order to get him off mode before traveling back in time and saving the world.

Yep.

I learned that despite Blue Beetle being freaking huge and _so totally not crash,_ Jaime was a pretty normal human. He had a loving family. A mom, a dad, and a little sister. He attended El Paso High and had friends named Tye and Traci. He liked to skateboard and had dreams of becoming a dentist. He would've been a 2018 class graduate of El Paso High had he not been moded and destined to take over the world two years prior.

But don't worry, I fixed that.

Living in the Reach era left me with lots of physical and mental scars. I never got time to heal because I had an inhibitor collar around my neck, and despite gaining my super-speedy healing powers once I finally escaped it, the scars stayed. I don't like to think about those dark times. But, every time I look into the mirror before showering, I can't help but be reminded that despite being a grown man with a normal life in this era, I was once a starving, miserable boy living in what might as well have been hell.

I never really understood how the whole " _soulmate"_ thing worked until I arrived in the past and met Jaime for the first time. The first thing that happened?

Khaji Da freaked the hell out. It armored him up, and made it so it pointed a plasma cannon at me. Which, in turn, I freaked out, and Jaime was struggling to get it to calm down and retract the armor. Khaji Da was in its right to feel threatened, though. Because it had detected immediate damage to Jaime's body upon me meeting him, and it wanted to rid of the threat. I didn't understand it at the time, and I wouldn't understand for a couple of weeks after that.

I was befriending him for the sake of getting him off mode. He mentioned he went home the night he met me and when he went to shower, he saw the scars he was suddenly covered in. Not even cuts- _scars_. Ones that looked years old. Apparently, Khaji had been screaming at him about it, but he ignored Khaji because he hated the bug. And I get it, at that time, I hated the bug too. (And I'll be honest, it still kind of creeps me out. But I put up with it for the sake of Jaime.) I asked Jaime to show me his scars, and he did. My face went pale as I realized that his scars were basically a replica of mine.

I didn't say anything, in fear he would lose his trust in me and I wouldn't be able to succeed getting him out of Reach control.

We beat the Reach, and Jaime would sometimes bring up how self-conscious his scars made him, and how he was embarrassed to take off his shirt in front of people who weren't on the team in fear of being stared at. He mentioned feeling less attractive, less desirable. I still didn't mention anything about our matching scars, still fearing he would get freaked out, or somehow hold a grudge on me. I did everything I could to prevent any sort of connection he could make with me and his scars. When it came to coming back to the Watchtower after completed missions, I showered as fast as lightning, changed as fast as lightning, until that one inevitable day in August when I was invited to go swimming with the Team. Any excuse I made was seen through, and something just clicked in my head. A feeling of "Dammit, I don't care anymore". I tore off my shirt and dove in the water.

It took Jaime a couple of hours to make the connections of our matching scars. Luckily for me, he brought it up in private.

We had a long discussion, and we concluded that we were connected in someway. I mean, it was the only logical explanation, considering our friendship was formed pretty oddly in the first place. Most people don't make friends with somebody who is from the future and trying to stop you from taking over the universe.

He said he wasn't mad at me, but he still felt disappointed, because his entire life he was always confident in his looks, aware he was an attractive guy and all, but it felt like all of it had been thrown away.

"I've never seen you as like, y'know, _not-handsome_ just because you had some scars." I blurted out. And that's when I realized something- I'd seriously caught some feelings for Jaime.

Jaime thanked me for the compliment, but I was too busy to think about it because I was having a life revelation.

We continued on being mutual friends for a while, until he finally got his typical cliche, "I WAS SCARED YOU WERE GONNA DIE BUT I MANAGED TO SAVE YOUR LIFE AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I CANNOT HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE AND NOW WE SHALL KISS IN THE SHOWER WITH THE MIXTURE OF RELIEF AND LOVE AND PASSION" moment, and it was official from then on.

Honestly, we don't talk much about our scars these days. Occasionally we'll jokingly compare them, determining who had the more manly and rugged scars, even though they were the exact same.

Nah, Jaime and I mostly spend our days superheroing, living in our apartment in Bludhaven, and him scolding me for not flossing enough because he's actually a dental assistant now. Sometimes he'll even pin me down and floss my teeth himself. But! Don't fear, my friend. I'm actually really into it.

Actually, I'm just really into him in general. Him, his rugged scars, and his obsession over flossed teeth.

And call me crazy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Not even for a bag of Chicken Whizees.


End file.
